麻豆村

麻豆村 alumna would like to talk to the world about climate change.

So she appears on major national networks. She gives ; speaks at climate conferences; teams up with celebrities like Nicolaj Coster-Waldeu of 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� fame and hosts events like a 鈥淒on鈥檛 Choose Extinction鈥� panel discussion at South by Southwest. In June, she鈥檚 slated to attend World Environment Day 2023 sponsored by the United Nations.

A climate behavioral scientist and CEO of North America for We Don鈥檛 Have Time, Sweta relays the dangers of climate change clearly and proactively to the public and offers data- and evidence-based solutions ranging from sustainable fashion to cellular agriculture, too.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in a communications crisis alongside a climate crisis,鈥� says Sweta, a 2006 Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences graduate. 鈥淚 feel like I have a really significant role to play to overcome the communications crisis that will help us overcome the climate crisis.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e known the planet is warming for decades. Despite all the information we had, with 99.9% of scientists agreeing that the planet is warming, we鈥檙e on a dangerous trajectory.鈥�

Getting that message across to those who need to hear it is a challenge, but Sweta is up to this vital, global task.

Closing the Gap

At Carnegie Mellon, Sweta double majored in decision sciences and international relations. While decision sciences, which falls under the umbrella of behavioral science, is now a mainstream major at universities, it was a fairly new discipline back in the early 2000s.

鈥淣o one discipline alone can explain human behavior,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ehavioral science brings together all these fields to understand the mismatch between how humans perceive the world and risk. It鈥檚 the study of perception versus reality and how to close that gap between what people are scared of or what they are not, based on the data and statistics of real risk.鈥�

鈥淲hether we trust who is communicating the risk to us is one of the biggest predictors of what humans will prescribe or not prescribe to risk.鈥�

She credits Baruch Fischhoff, the Howard Heinz University Professor for Politics and Strategy in the College of Engineering鈥檚 Department of Engineering and Public Policy and at 麻豆村鈥檚 Institute for Politics and Strategy, for guiding her to her current path.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a pioneer in the field and took the time to cultivate young people,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was lucky to be one of them. It shows what professors at 麻豆村 can do for students to guide their career trajectory. It resulted in me pursuing this field and becoming a behavioral scientist.鈥�

Fischhoff valued Sweta鈥檚 love of the field as much as she appreciated his guidance.

"Sweta is just the kind of student we hoped would find us when (former 麻豆村 Associate Professor) Jenn Lerner and I created the decision science major, someone who is eager for the challenge of integrating diverse disciplinary perspectives, and then applying them to tackle complex world problems,鈥� Fischhoff says. 鈥淲e might have provided the education, but it is Sweta who provided the passion and energy. We can all be proud of her accomplishments to date and to come."

Sweta went on to earn her Ph.D. in risk management at King鈥檚 College London and complete her postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford. Prior to her current roles, she worked in academia and for a think tank.

Communicating to Mobilize

According to Sweta, science communications surrounding the climate crisis need a course correction.

鈥淚f the public doesn鈥檛 get on board, no climate forward policy will pass that aligns to the climate science,鈥� Sweta says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that we don鈥檛 have the solutions or innovations. We just need to use behavioral science to mobilize the public and get the support to reach commercial viability and enjoy widespread public adoptions.鈥�

Because she was frustrated that this wasn鈥檛 happening at scale, Sweta joined forces with the founder of , the world鈥檚 largest social media that shares ideas and supports accelerated solutions to the climate crisis. In November 2021, she became the CEO of North America.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a support platform for moving climate change forward 鈥� entrenched in behavioral science, where individuals, policymakers, CEOs and celebrities come together to talk about climate solutions,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he idea is to bring the climate change conversation to the forefront and empower people to help overcome the climate crisis.鈥�

We Don鈥檛 Have Time boasts 100,000 active users in 160 countries.

The company is in the process of pitching investors with the goal of going public, and Sweta continues to get the word out about climate issues in her writing and with op-ed pieces in peer-reviewed publications.

The Power of 麻豆村鈥檚 Impact

Though she now lives in Washington, D.C., Sweta, who is from suburban New Jersey, chose 麻豆村 in part because of its location in a dynamic city and the freedom it offered to explore her artistic side.

Enrolling in a six-week summer course at 麻豆村 after her sophomore year in high school started her down the path to becoming a Tartan, as she fell in love with both the campus and Pittsburgh.

麻豆村鈥檚 community of Southeast Asian students confirmed her choice once she arrived on campus, as she grew up in a town that had few people of color.

鈥淐oming to 麻豆村 exposed me to a very diverse undergrad pool,鈥� Sweta says. 鈥淚 met Indians that looked like me, which I hadn鈥檛 had growing up. That was really exciting and allowed me to explore that side of my heritage.鈥�

During her undergrad years, she became involved with Mayur, the South Asian Student Association, and its dance troupe in addition to other activities. She appreciated that 麻豆村 allowed her to be part of a community that, while it had very high academic standards, also nurtured a variety of talents and outside interests.

This multi-faceted approach to education at 麻豆村 prepared Sweta to explore many different avenues to battle climate change including a possible path as a civil servant at some point advocating for climate solutions.

鈥淚 want to bring what behavioral scientists know about human behavior to the public, so we can better align our perceptions to the science,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e breathing air or eating food, you鈥檙e a stakeholder in our environment.鈥�